Aloe Vera Energy

Mercury is a highly useful metal that is number 80 on the Periodic Chart of the elements. It is unique in that it is one of only four elements that is a liquid at room temperature. This fact, along with it being a heavy metal has made mercury both useful and deadly. It is surrounded on the Periodic Chart by metals such as gold, silver, cadmium, and lead, and other heavy metals. Of these metals, only gold is denser.

Mercury was found in Egyptian tombs placed there 3500 years ago. It was known in ancient China and India. Mercury metal comes from cinnabar, or mercury sulfide. Most of the world's supply comes from Spain and Italy in Europe, or California and Texas in the states. People have been used mercury for years in thermometers, barometers, and sphygmomanometers because the column of liquid can be 13 times shorter than using a column of water or a substance the same density as water. The problem is that mercury vapor, mercury metal, and all soluble salts of mercury are all very poisonous.

The poisonous nature of mercury has not kept it from being used in a wide variety of products. Blue light street lights are generally mercury vapor lights. Mercury sulfide, in the form of vermillion, is used as a paint to slow the growth of barnacles on ships. Mercury is also used in fluorescent lights. When they are broken indoors, enough poisonous mercury vapor is given off to be a health risk. Mercury is still used in some cosmetics and dental amalgams. Not so many years ago, it was common to paint mercurochrome on a wound to prevent infection. Greater awareness of the effects of mercury poisoning has outlawed such tinctures.

Today we are much more aware of the far reaching negative effects of heavy metals on health. In fact, these metals have no known need in the body. Their presence is nearly always negative. They get into our bodies in a variety of ways. More specific for this article, the abundant use of mercury in the past has now poisoned water, land, and seas. Mercury poisoning in fish, especially tuna and swordfish, is a problem and fish must be monitored continually.

These are a few common products containing mercury in some form. Each poses a threat to cause mercury poisoning: algaecides, body powders, calomel lotions, dental amalgams, felt, germicides, insecticides, manufacture of paper and chlorine, paper products, polluted water, skin lightening creams, and tanning leather.

Consider these selected complications caused by mercury poisoning: alopecia, birth defects, cerebral palsy, jerky movements, dermatitis, drowsiness, gum bleeding and soreness, memory loss, migraines, retinitis, schizophrenia, etc. etc. Heavy metals can indirectly or directly damage the very DNA code thus increasing the risk of cancer.

Symptoms like those above often include sensory impairment such as vision, hearing, or speech problems, lack of coordination, and disturbed sensation. The type of symptom and the degree of the problem will depend on the individual, the metal causing the poisoning, and the duration of the exposure.

The multitude of products that once used or presently use a form of mercury is staggering. How many of these are in landfills today leaching their poisons into the ground water? Yes, city water systems are monitored for mercury poisoning. But what are wells and springs?

This article is not designed to frighten you but to alert you to possible danger of mercury poisoning. We can't do anything about landfill leaching into our present water sources. Neither can we do anything about decreasing the number of products using mercury in some form. But we can do whatever possible to make our drinking water safe.  If you have any doubts about your water, it is best to filter it before drinking or cooking with it. An activated charcoal filter for example promises to remove up to 95% of any mercury or other heavy metals in the water. It does this through its ability to adsorb the toxins. The investment in a good water filter will not only be worth the money, but will give the added benefit of bringing you peace of mind.